Loudness perception is a random variable at every stimulus level

Evidence

The results demonstrate that loudness perception of NH and HL listeners is a random variable at each stimulus level, i.e., each level has a statistical distribution across loudness categories. The development of a probabilistic model for listener loudness perception has a variety of advantages. The most common usage for probabilistic listener models is to simulate listener behavior for the development of experiments or listening devices. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 2512

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Treating a single loudness judgment as a draw from a distribution—rather than noise around a true value—is a subtle reframe of what perceptual measurement means.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 2512